Panasonic HD video recording for SD Memory Cards : Panasonic, today announced that it has begun developing technology to record digital HD images onto SD Memory Cards, following the AVCHD standard for HD digital video cameras. The company is also constructing a new environment for editing and playing back the images. With the expected adoption of HD broadcasting in many countries and the widespread sales of HD TVs, people will be able to view HD images at home with increasingly enhanced viewing environments. The development of new device technology for the home video market is prompting a major switch in recording media to discs and SD Memory Cards, which are easier to use and more convenient than tape media.

Panasonic HD Video - 8 cm DVD Discs
This new HD video recording technology for SD Memory Cards will conform to the AVCHD standard, which uses a highly efficient and new compression encoding technology to record 1080i1 or 720p2 HD images onto 8-cm DVD discs. It will use MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 to compress video files, and Dolby Digital (AC-3) or Linear PCM for audio files. This combination makes it possible to develop HD video cameras that are compact yet deliver high-quality images and sounds.

Akihiro Nakatani about the SD Memory Card Technology
“Believing that the SD Memory Card is the recording media best suited for video cameras, Panasonic has already released a professional-use HD video camera that uses SD Memory Card technology”, said Mr. Akihiro Nakatani, Director of Video Camera Business Unit, Panasonic AVC Networks Company. “Panasonic's efforts to develop the technology to record HD images onto SD Memory Cards and construct a new playback and editing environment, in addition to its establishing the AVCHD standard for 8-cm DVDs, will serve to further stimulate development of products that take advantage of the characteristics of both media.”

About Panasonic
Panasonic's vision of the digital future is driven by the needs and aspirations of our business customers and millions of consumers around the world who use our products every day. We share their dream to live a fuller life by providing ways of working smarter and enjoying the rewards of technological advances. As we move forward together with our customers into the uncharted future of the 21st century with the prospect of future technologies and systems yet to be thought of, Panasonic's standards are still firmly grounded in the philosophy of company founder Konosuke Matsushita. He began our journey in 1918 by inventing a two-socket light fixture. Profound in its import yet elegantly simple, Konosuke Matsushita's breakthrough led to what is now one of the world's largest electronics companies. As he built Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., he never lost sight of the importance of putting the needs of his customers and the public first.